--- title: "The Best TV Shows to Stream Right Now (2026), by Platform" description: "The best TV series streaming right now — from Breaking Bad and The Pitt to Apple TV's summer wave of Lucky, Cape Fear, and Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed — ranked by Celluloid Score and sorted by platform." url: "https://celluloidscore.com/news/best-tv-shows-to-stream-2026/" category: "Guide" author: "Kaiser Khan" date_published: "2026-07-13" date_modified: "2026-07-24" source: "Celluloid" --- # The Best TV Shows to Stream Right Now (2026), by Platform The best TV series streaming right now — from Breaking Bad and The Pitt to Apple TV's summer wave of Lucky, Cape Fear, and Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed — ranked by Celluloid Score and sorted by platform. **The best television is scattered across a dozen subscriptions — so we ranked it in one place.** Every series below carries a [Celluloid Score](/about/scoring-policy/), averaged from critic reviews, audience ratings, Metascore, IMDb and fan ratings. Browse the full catalog at the [TV Shows hub](/shows/); the highlights, by platform, are here. ## The best of the best The summit of our catalog is a cluster of all-time greats. [Breaking Bad](/shows/breaking-bad/) (94%) remains the benchmark. Right behind it sit [The Wire](/shows/the-wire/) (93%), [The Sopranos](/shows/the-sopranos/) (93%), Phoebe Waller-Bridge's [Fleabag](/shows/fleabag/) (92%), plus modern leaders [Shōgun](/shows/shogun/) (91%) and [Arcane](/shows/arcane/) (91%). If you watch nothing else, start here. ## Best new in summer 2026 The 2026 class has arrived in force. AMC's [The Vampire Lestat](/shows/the-vampire-lestat/) is the year's best-reviewed premiere (98% Tomatometer); Apple TV+ counters with [Widow's Bay](/shows/widows-bay/) (Matthew Rhys), the Soviet-space thriller [Star City](/shows/star-city/), [Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed](/shows/maximum-pleasure-guaranteed/) (Tatiana Maslany), [Lucky](/shows/lucky/) (Anya Taylor-Joy), and [Cape Fear](/shows/cape-fear/) (Javier Bardem, Amy Adams). On HBO Max, [The Pitt](/shows/the-pitt/) remains the medical drama to beat and [A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms](/shows/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/) makes Westeros fun again. The full midyear ranking: [Best TV Shows of 2026 So Far](/news/best-tv-shows-2026-so-far/). ## Best shows on Netflix [Netflix](/shows/platform/netflix/) still commands the deepest bench. Beyond *Breaking Bad*, *The Sopranos* and *Arcane*, there's [Better Call Saul](/shows/better-call-saul/) (91%), the one-shot devastation of [Adolescence](/shows/adolescence/) (88%), the '80s nostalgia machine [Stranger Things](/shows/stranger-things/) (86%), the regal melancholy of [The Crown](/shows/the-crown/) (85%), the true-crime phenomenon [Baby Reindeer](/shows/baby-reindeer/) (85%), and the global sensation [Squid Game](/shows/squid-game/) (82%). New in 2026: [How to Get to Heaven from Belfast](/shows/how-to-get-to-heaven-from-belfast/) (85%), Korea's [Teach You a Lesson](/shows/teach-you-a-lesson/) (83%), the live-action [ONE PIECE](/shows/one-piece/) (84%), and the most-watched show of the year, [HIS & HERS](/shows/his-and-hers/). ## Best shows on HBO Max [HBO Max](/shows/platform/hbo-max/) is the prestige powerhouse, home to [The Wire](/shows/the-wire/) (93%) and [The Sopranos](/shows/the-sopranos/) (93%) alongside [Game of Thrones](/shows/game-of-thrones/) (88%). It also holds the Emmy-winning medical drama [The Pitt](/shows/the-pitt/) (90%), [Succession](/shows/succession/) (90%), [The Last of Us](/shows/the-last-of-us/) (88%), [The White Lotus](/shows/the-white-lotus/) (82%), and [House of the Dragon](/shows/house-of-the-dragon/) (81%). **Coming Christmas Day 2026:** the [HBO *Harry Potter* series](/shows/harry-potter-hbo/) (*Philosopher’s Stone* season) — see our [series guide](/news/hbo-harry-potter-series-guide/) and [film watch order](/news/harry-potter-watch-order/) to prep the theatrical library on the same platform. ## Best shows on Apple TV+ [Apple TV+](/shows/platform/apple-tv/) punches above its size — and this summer it is overloaded. [Severance](/shows/severance/) (90%) remains the formally radical workplace nightmare; [Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed](/shows/maximum-pleasure-guaranteed/) is the bingeable surprise; [Lucky](/shows/lucky/) is the Taylor-Joy adrenaline shot; [Cape Fear](/shows/cape-fear/) is Bardem at full menace; [Pachinko](/shows/pachinko/) (87%) is a ravishing diaspora epic; [Ted Lasso](/shows/ted-lasso/) (85%) made sincerity a virtue again; and [Silo](/shows/silo/) (78%) is a tightly wound dystopian mystery. ## Best shows elsewhere [Prime Video](/shows/platform/prime-video/) is home to [Fleabag](/shows/fleabag/) (92%), [The Boys](/shows/the-boys/) (83%) and [Fallout](/shows/fallout/) (84%) — plus 2026's [Bait](/shows/bait/) (Riz Ahmed), [Young Sherlock](/shows/young-sherlock/), and Chile's [The House of the Spirits](/shows/the-house-of-the-spirits/). [Hulu](/shows/platform/hulu/) carries *Shōgun*, [The Bear](/shows/the-bear/) (84%), the Handmaid's Tale sequel [The Testaments](/shows/the-testaments/), and the 97%-fresh [Rivals](/shows/rivals/). [Disney+](/shows/platform/disney/) has [Andor](/shows/andor/) (88%). [Peacock](/shows/platform/peacock/) has [Poker Face](/shows/poker-face/) (83%) and Keke Palmer's horror-comedy [The 'Burbs](/shows/the-burbs/), [Paramount+](/shows/platform/paramount/) holds [Yellowjackets](/shows/yellowjackets/) (77%), and new arrival [AMC+](/shows/platform/amc/) leads with [The Vampire Lestat](/shows/the-vampire-lestat/). ## Best international (non-English) series Leading the pack is Korea's [My Mister](/shows/my-mister/) (93%), Germany's [Dark](/shows/dark-2017/) (91%), and [Crash Landing on You](/shows/crash-landing-on-you/) (91%). China's costume epics remain essential: [Nirvana in Fire](/shows/nirvana-in-fire/) (92%), [Empresses in the Palace](/shows/empresses-in-the-palace/) (88%), and [The Untamed](/shows/the-untamed/) (88%). For more thrills: [Kingdom](/shows/kingdom-2019/) (89%), [The Glory](/shows/the-glory/) (86%), [Alice in Borderland](/shows/alice-in-borderland/), [Money Heist](/shows/money-heist/), [Lupin](/shows/lupin/), and [Sacred Games](/shows/sacred-games/). Browse them all at the [TV Shows hub](/shows/). ## How we rank them The Celluloid Score blends five independent sources into one number, so no single bad review — or bit of review-bombing — distorts the picture. Every show above links to its full page with a critic-versus-audience breakdown. Explore the whole catalog at the [TV Shows hub](/shows/). --- Canonical HTML: https://celluloidscore.com/news/best-tv-shows-to-stream-2026/ Last modified: 2026-07-24